William h



(No Model.)

W. H. SQUI .4

CAR GOUPLIN No. 544,491. Patented Aug. 13, 1895.

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- (W I? M93 INVENTOR Wfi-S g UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM I. SQUIRES, OF THE PLAINS, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR 'OF ONE-THIRD TO LUCIEN T. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

GAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,491, dated August 13, 1895. Application filed March 14, 1895. $erial No. 541,679. (No model:)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. SoUIREs, a citizen of the United States, residing at The Plains, in the county of'Fauquier and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplers of the .Ianney type; and it consists in the combination of means for holding the locking-pin out of locking position and means for mechanically drawing and forcing said pin into locked position in the act of coupling cars.

The invention consists also in the construction and combination of the draw-heads and the knuckle whereby a coupler is prevented from falling to the track in case it breaks or is otherwise detached from the draw-bar.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a car with my improved coupler at tached, showing means for lifting the locking-pin for releasing the coupler in raised position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing the application of a spring-brake to hold the knuckle in set position. Fig. 4is a cross-sec tion on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing the means for mechanically drawing the lockingpin and its counterweight to the locking position. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3, showing beveled draw-heads and flanged knuckles arranged so that if either of the draw-heads of the pair becomes detached from the car such draw-head will be retained and prevented from falling to the track by reason of the supporting flanges, which prevent either draw-head from dropping without the other. Fig.6 is a perspective of the locking-pin, and Fig. 7 is a similar view of the knuckle. r

A is a draw-head of the Janney type of coupler connected in the usual or in any suitable way with the draw-bar of a car.

B is the knuckle whose lever or looking end is provided with an inclined face 1, and G is the locking pin or bar having the usual in- V with the crank.

clined face or shoulder 2 of the Janney coupler.

D is a rock-shaft provided with a crank 3 at the outer end and with a lateral arm 4 projecting from the shaft at about right angles This rock-shaft is mounted at the end of a car so that arm 4 will swing in a plane with the locking-pin O, and so that the crank 3 may swing beyond the axis of the shaft when raised and thus counterbalanced and hold the locking-pin up when raised by the operator for uncoupling. The arm 4 and the locking-pin are coupled-by a flexible cord or chain 5.

In order that a pair of couplers may be antomatically interlocked without first releasing the locking-pin from a lock or catch and for mechanically drawing it into the locked position, I arrange a bell-crank arm or lever D in a recess in the draw-head, as shown in Fig. 4. By counterbalancing the locking-pin without positively'locking its operating lever and rock-shaft, and by means of the crankarm, I am enabled to mechanically and positively draw or force the locking-pin entirely home to locked position in the act of coupling the cars, as the lever-arm of the knuckle impinges against the lower arm of the bell-crank D and through it overcomes the counterbalance and forces the locking-pin entirely home or to locking position.

In order to. prevent either draw-head from falling to the track in case one of them becomes detached from a car, I bevel or recess the upper inner edges of the draw-heads, as

shown in Fig. 5, and provide the knuckles with laterally-extending flanges 6 to fit such bevel. It will thus be seen that a loose drawhead cannot fail or drop fromits fellow, even though it be otherwise unsupported.

It is necessary to have the knuckles in an open position previous to the coupling operation, and in order to hold said knuckles open while they remain uncoupled I provide a flat spring-brake or friction-piece 7 and arrange it in the recess in the draw-head, so that it will impinge against the hub of the knuckle, as shown in Fig. 3. This form of brake is simple and economical in construction and efficient in operation, and holds the knuckle firmly in whatever position it may be set.

In order that my coupler may be used interchangeably with the Janney and other like couplers already in use, I propose to make my draw-heads as much thicker and have their upper surfaces arranged as much higher than the draw-heads of such couplers as the thickness of the flanges, so that the flange s of the knuckles will stand above and rest upon by the lever arm for forcing the locking pin entirely home to locked position substantially as described.

2. In a carcoupler the combination of a.

jdrawhead, a coupling knuckle having a lever arm, a locking pin, a counterbalance for holding the locking pin out of locking position and a vibratory crank arm operated through the "level-arm of the' knuckle for bvercoming the counterbalance and for forcing the pin into locking position substantially as described.

3. In a car-coupler of the character described, the combination of a car, a drawhead having recessed ,or socketed upper 'faces and knuckles having flanges extending from their upper forward edges to fit flush with the sockets in the engaging drawheads, substantially as described.

4:. In a car coupler of the character described, the combination of a knuckle and a flat spring brake to hold the knuckle firmly inany'set position'substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence'oftwo witnesses. l

. a y II."SQUIRES. Witnesses:

V. D. StrookpRIDeE, DL'B'. GALLATIN. 

